10 Surprising Things I discovered about Minimalism

Often when you try and make a change in life you have some kind of preconceived notion about what the end result will be. Two years ago I started decluttering our home and expected what everyone else would expect after this process. Less clutter. But, that wasn’t all. I found there were some surprising things I discovered about minimalism which I didn’t expect.

Growing up I had all those ‘normal ideals’ that people throw around. Consuming is good and normal and everyone does it (even if you don’t have the money quite yet), sales are a great way to save money and the more the better. Adopting a minimalist lifestyle has changed my perspective on a lot of things and opened my eyes to new ways of thinking. Here are 10 Surprising Things I discovered about Minimalism.

1. You can still consume – guilt free

Being a minimalist doesn’t mean that you are against buying stuff or having physical possessions or that you don’t need anything. I still buy clothes, shoes, tech gear and make up and all the things you need or want in life – guilt free. Just now I just buy them with more intention than before. I don’t browse the aisles looking for a new pair of shoes to tempt me or research the latest make up trends. Instead, I wait until I need to replace something or have thought about something I want and put it on a wish-list. I also ask these 7 questions which keep me from making unnecessary, impulsive purchases. When I finally buy something it is after I have considered it over time, researched the reviews and specs, reviewed the prices and assessed if I can afford it.

2. The importance of quality over quantity

I used to get excited at going shopping and grabbing bargains, three pairs of shoes for $40? Winning! Three for the price of two when I actually didn’t even need one? Bargain. I now value quality over quantity and will wait to buy something until I am sure it is the right item for me. I’d rather have one really comfortable pair of shoes that will last me three years than 3 that feel horrible and end up sitting in the back of my wardrobe.

Of course, I still aim to save money and get discounts where I can but that is no longer the main purchasing decision. I thought after discovering minimalism I might be more reluctant to spend and feel more guilty about doing so. But what actually happened is it actually helped me see how I had wasted money on buying excess stuff based on how cheap it was, rather than just saving up and buying something that I loved, what I genuinely needed and something that would last.

3. The importance of planning for tomorrow

Before I discovered minimalism, I didn’t give much thought to my retirement. That seemed like a 40 or 50 year old future me problem. I’d hoped that I could retire at 60 rather than 70 or 75 but there was no real action plan. I was just trudging along figuring it out as I went.

A surprising thing about minimalism is that it got me thinking about my future and how long I wanted to trade my time for money. Did I want to be working full-time for the next 4 decades or did I want to plan ahead and claw back more and more time to enjoy myself sooner.

Minimalism made me reassess my spending across the board and has allowed me to set new financial goals so I can have more time in the hopefully not so distant future. It wasn’t just a process of getting rid of the stuff to free up space in my home, but also a reflection on how I could free up my future.

4. You’ll save more money. A lot of it. 

When you individually list over 200 items of stuff on eBay you no longer need, you start to realise that you probably have a spending problem. And also that you never want to go through this process again. I didn’t realise when I first started getting rid of my stuff how much money I had wasted over the years on things I didn’t need or how much I could save by shopping more intentionally. Over the past two years, after getting rid of over two thirds of our stuff I have slowly changed my spending habits and have not only made some money back, but have saved a lot more.

5. You’ll reassess your relationships

Discovering minimalism might be a lot about the stuff, but if made me see relationships in a similar light. It has taught me not only how to assess what physical items do and don’t add value to my life, but also how my relationships add or subtract from my overall happiness. Minimalism helped me to set new boundaries in relationships and given me the confidence to say no to things I am not thrilled about just to please other people.

6. You need less than you think you did

When I first heard about minimalism and capsule wardrobes I didn’t think it was going to be so easy to live a life with less. How on earth could someone live with only 12 shirts to choose from?! But over time I realised that I actually didn’t need as much as I thought I did. This was particularly true with my wardrobe. I realised I didn’t need 50 dresses and shoes, 10 belts, 10 handbags and a busting wardrobe and could be happy with much less. I was content in my smaller home and surprisingly, even started to reduce the food we kept in the house to just what we needed for the week ahead. It’s taken time, multiple decluttering sessions and lots of experimenting but I feel like I need much less to be happy now than ever before.

7. You’ll have more time

When you limit the time you used to spend shopping in store or online or saying yes to everything that come up in your events list you will open up new opportunities to spend your time or money on more fulfilling activities like a new hobby or travel. Having less stuff means you’ll spend less time working to earn money to buy that stuff you don’t need, you’ll spend less time cleaning around all that stuff and you will be more selective with what you add to your calendar.

8. You’ll appreciate the smaller things

Discovering minimalism has helped me to be more appreciative of what I do have. I no longer need a shopping spree and a new pair of shoes or DVD to be happy. I find that I am grateful at the end of the day to sit down and watch some TV with a white hot chocolate, or to put a nice smelling candle on. Even just cuddling up with my warm throw blanket and a book is something I look forward to on a cold night. I don’t need extravagant things to feel happy and try to find happiness in the smaller things.

9. You’ll enjoy space 

Whether it is an empty cupboard or free time in your calendar, you will learn to appreciate space. You’ll no longer automatically feel the need to fill every wall in your home or your wardrobe to the brim. You will enjoy having easy access to the items you love without the excess. You’ll appreciate a free night to chill rather than to worry about getting ready for a big night and rushing out straight after work.

10. You’ll start to assess money in time rather than dollars

It can be easy to look at things in terms of dollars, but what are dollars? They are something given to us in exchange for hours out of our lives. That $20 tee you didn’t really need might have been one hour of your time. Minimalism can help you to focus less on the dollars and more on what you are giving up in exchange for that – your time and freedom. If you started thinking of purchases in terms of how many hours of my time is this item you might start to make different spending choices. Suddenly that bargain you’ve stumbled across won’t seem so tempting.

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What have you discovered about minimalism that has surprised you? Share your experience in the comments below 🙂